As I did a couple of years ago, I thought I’d collect the books I read this past year and provide a brief comment or two on each one. Each of these volumes were practical and beneficial in their own way and I’d advocate for their careful meditation as you have the opportunity.

Who would’ve thought that one of the greatest teachers of 2017 would’ve been the ghost of a pointy-eared little green alien. I highly doubt Rian Johnson was thinking about how to turn Yoda into a preacher when writing the script for Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

English minister and writer Abraham Booth is most likely not very well-known amongst the average reader. Active in ministry and authorship during the 1700s, Booth became known as a Baptist apologist for his defense, examination, and explanation of many of the Baptist distinctives called into question during his day.

When I set out to read J. A. Medders’ Gospel Formed, I wasn’t really sure what I was getting myself into. I was embarking into uncharted waters. I wasn’t familiar with Medders’ ministry, neither had I been acquainted with his writing.

One of the longest standing debates among evangelicals remains that over the so-called “social gospel.” That is, the largely Protestant movement that sought to apply biblical principles and ethics in order to solve the world’s gravest of social scandals, such as race, poverty, alcoholism, education, and environmental issues, to name a few.

I usually chuckle when preachers begin their sermons with the sentiment that their selected text is their “favorite” in the whole Bible. I chuckle because not only do I do the same thing but I also know that this is usually just a quick way to introduce the text without really introducing it.

Perhaps the most overused word in all the English language is the word “awesome.” We call people, places, and moments awesome without any real regard for the true meaning of the term. In fact, the word is so colloquial that it’s almost a slang word now.

It’s now 2017. The year 2016 has come and gone. I can’t believe I’m even writing that sentence, yet here we are. What a rollercoaster it was. An election year, one in which the media cycle was more annoying than in recent memory.

I think there are only three types of books out there: those that entertain you, those that educate you, and those that expunge you. In case you were wondering, Paul Tripp’s Dangerous Calling is most assuredly in that last group.

Some of the clearest portions of Scripture on the nature and character of God come in the form of parables, which, as it happens, are also some of the most confusing and debated portions of Scripture as well.